Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has spoken to the media ahead of Saturday’s clash vs Man Utd and was full of praise for both Rúben Amorim and one of his former players.
After four games unbeaten, Manchester United will be hoping to bring back another three points home from North London. Rúben Amorim’s side will face Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur at 12.30pm on Saturday, where a win could see them climb back into the Champions League places ahead of the international break.
The two sides are currently level on 17 points after the first 10 games. Six months on from the Europa League final in Bilbao, the two teams look to be in a similar position but United will be desperate for revenge.
Whilst Amorim has begun to embed his style of play, Tottenham will pose a big challenge this weekend. Their results have been inconsistent for the last few weeks but any team coached by Thomas Frank will be aggressive and structured. United will be looking for another win to keep the unbeaten streak going.
Although a 2-2 draw away at Nottingham Forest was disappointing, three wins and a draw in the last four games is a significant improvement from last season. We are starting to see Amorim’s style of play and confidence is growing across the team. This turnaround has been rewarded with Rúben Amorim deservedly picking up the Premier League Manager of the Month award for October.
As well as the Manager of the Month, the Reds also have the Premier League’s Player of the Month in Bryan Mbeumo. Formerly of Brentford, under Thomas Frank, Mbeumo signed for United in the summer and has made a huge impact with his goals and attacking quality.
During October, the forward contributed three goals and one assist in three victories over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton. Thomas Frank knows United’s star all too well and will be hoping he doesn’t continue his hot form against his Spurs side.
Frank ‘admires’ Amorim
During his press conference ahead of Saturday’s match, Frank was asked what he expects from Amorim’s team and his answers recognised the recent progress made by the Reds
“You can see it’s a Man United team that’s got more confidence, definitely. I think Rúben and his coaching staff have done a very good job. It’s clearly been a tough year for them and for him. I admire him a lot for that, to go through a very tricky spell with a lot of setbacks,” Frank told the media.
“You can see the bits he’s been working on, it’s more and more clear. I think it’s also clear that he plays not only a system but a specific way, which they are very good at and they’re getting better and better at.
“They played more or less the same team in the last four or five games, so we know exactly what to expect from them. I think they have an incredibly dangerous front three. They’re starting to get more up to pace and we need to close them down. On the flip side, make sure they run a little bit more backwards because we’re attacking,” he added.
Frank’s management made an initial positive impact at Tottenham whilst results have dipped slightly in recent weeks. Despite a defeat to Chelsea last week, an emphatic 4-0 win against Copenhagen in the Champions League in midweek will have brightened the mood ahead of this game.
This could be a chance for United to take advantage of the extra training sessions and preparation time due to a lack of European football this season.
Frank “not surprised” by Mbeumo’s impact
Mbeumo signed for United from Brentford in the transfer window, where he enjoyed a six-year spell under Frank. Both left the Bees in the summer, with Frank swapping West London for North London.
Mbeumo has hit the ground running for United and he was awarded with the Premier League Player of the Month award for October this week. Frank built a close relationship with the forward during their time at Brentford and was full of praise for him when journalists asked for his thoughts.
“No, I’m not surprised. Of course, I’ll step out of my role at Tottenham! When you work with a player for six years, you get a close relationship. To see him develop from being a young man, 19 years old when he moved to London and Brentford and left six years later, going into one of the biggest clubs in the world with all that focus and the way he stepped up,” explained Frank.
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He also said, “For me, looking from the outside, maybe a little bit biased, I think he’s been their best offensive player. He can create, he can score, he works hard, he’s a team player. He’s the perfect example, in my opinion, for a player what I call about attitude, confident but humble.”
“He’s a top player. I think he will have fantastic success. I hope that for him, not tomorrow, but in general I hope and wish him all the best,” Frank added.
Saturday’s match will be tough for both sides but from a United perspective, it would be another huge win. Confidence will be vital before going into another international break and Bryan Mbeumo will be hoping his goalscoring form continues against Spurs.
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